Snow wreaks havoc on Ontario roads

TORONTO - Much of southern Ontario was hit with a blast of snow and wind that caused widespread road closures and stranded more than 400 people northwest of Toronto in their cars.

The motorists were taken to warming centres in Orangeville, Shelburne and Honeywood late Friday night and early Saturday morning after escaping vehicles trapped by snow and ice.

About a dozen of them were still in the shelters as of Saturday afternoon, according to Dufferin County.

Police urged drivers to stay off the roads, saying responding to motorists in the brutal weather puts the safety of emergency workers at risk.

Several stretches of provincial highways were closed at times on Saturday after multiple collisions and pileups, including a crash on Highway 401 near Cobourg involving dozens of vehicles and six tractor-trailers.

Provincial police said two fire trucks and an ambulance were also struck in the chaos, though no emergency personnel were injured. Several motorists were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The weather was so bad that some municipalities even pulled their snowplows off the roads due to hazardous whiteout conditions.

Police were advising motorists to avoid travel if possible.

Environment Canada said an Arctic low pressure system that moved through much of southern Ontario on Saturday brought strong winds and local snowfall of around 5 to 10 centimetres.

Visibility at times dropped to zero as blinding snow was whipped along by gusts that reached upwards of 60 km/h in some places.

Frigid winds ranging from -25 to -35 C were forecast for Saturday night, with more snow set to arrive later Sunday.

And the province's east also felt the freeze as Saturday progressed, with similar wind chill values forecast for the evening through to Sunday morning.

The City of Toronto issued an extreme cold alert out of concern the blast of winter weather may put homeless people in danger.

There were no fatalities reported by provincial police on Saturday, though weather was labelled a factor in a fatal crash late Friday night on Highway 26 north of Stayner.

The OPP say two people were killed and four others were taken to hospital with serious injuries in the two-vehicle collision.